Banknote News

Breaking news about international paper & polymer money

According to a press release dated 29 December 2014, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas announced the start of the demonetization process on 1 January 2015 for the old "New Design Series" banknotes.

The public may continue to use the NDS banknotes up to 31 December 2015 in paying and buying of goods and services and other business or financial transactions requiring the use of cash. Thereafter, the NDS banknotes will no longer be accepted for payment transactions;

From 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2016, the public may exchange with authorized financial institutions, namely universal and commercial banks, thrift banks, and rural as well as cooperative banks, their NDS banknotes with the New Generation Currency (NGC) Series at full face value, without charge (Annex 2). The public may also opt to exchange NDS banknotes with the BSP or any of its regional offices/branches around the Philippines (Annex 3);

Government institutions holding in trust NDS series which could not be exchanged during the prescribed period, such as banknotes used as evidence in a litigation case, will have to request the BSP Cash Department in writing, within the period of exchange, for a special exchange arrangement;

For Overseas Filipinos (OFs) abroad, who have in their possession NDS banknotes which could not be exchanged within the prescribed period, they may register online starting 1 October 2015 to 31 December 2015 through the BSP Website. These NDS banknotes may be exchanged with the BSP within one (1) year from date of registration; and

Starting 1 January 2017, NDS banknotes that have not been exchanged shall no longer have any monetary value, and are considered demonetized.

The demonetization of the NDS will result in the circulation of a single currency series in the country – the NGC Series. The NGC banknotes which were issued on 16 December 2010 use new and enhanced security features to protect the safety of the public against counterfeiters.

According to a press release, on 20 June 2013, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) issued a new 50-peso note to commemorate the golden anniversary of state deposit insurer Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) and its customer philosophy, “Committed to Serve”.

Anyone interested in buying one of these notes can contact the contributor by clicking the link below.

100 pesos (US$2.40), 2012. Like P194, but with Masonic overprint. This note was originally available only in sheets of four uncut notes packaged in a folder. Since then, the BSP has begun issuing individual notes into circulation.

Anyone interested in buying one of these notes can contact the contributor by clicking the link below.

In 2000, five million 2,000-piso banknotes were printed featuing features the inauguration of President Joseph “Erap” Estrada at Barasoain Church in Bulacan on 10 June 1998. These notes were intended to be issued as legal tender in 2001, but President Estrada was ousted from office that year, so the notes were stored in the vaults of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. As of 2010, the bank was considering destroying the bulk of these unissued notes (known as “New Millennium” or “Erap” notes), saving only 50,000 pieces which would be demonetized for “historical, educational, numismatic and other purposes.” It wasn’t until 2012 that the bank began selling this numismatic product in a folder that clearly stipulates that the notes are not legal tender.

Souvenir copies of the special edition currency were distributed by Secretary del Rosario to the nine Ambassadors of ASEAN, namely: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam during the ASEAN Day celebration.

10 million pieces of the legal tender commemorative notes will be issued into circulation.

According to a press release dated 4 May 2012, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has issued a new 500-peso (US$12) note of the old style (P196) "with an overprint of the logo of the 45th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank to express solidarity with the ADB’s goal to free Asia and the Pacific from poverty. By ADB’s estimate, about 1.8 billion people in the region are poor and unable to access essential goods, services, and opportunities. The overprint is on the 500-piso banknote that features the late Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. who said: “The Filipino is worth dying for.” A total of 10 million pieces of these 500-peso banknotes were printed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to make it available to the general public through banks across the country."

According to an article in the Manila Bulletin dated 11 January 2012, the Security Printing Complex (SPC) division of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will begin locally printing the New Generation Currency (NGC) family of banknotes in Q1 2012, revising previous plans of printing the new bills starting in December 2011.

The BSP will start printing the 20- and 50-peso notes in the coming three months, followed by the 100-peso note later in 2012. To date, all NGC denominations have been produced by French security printer Oberthur Technologies, while SPC will continue to produce the old banknote series until next year because they still have stocks of paper and ink.

100 pesos (US$2.35), 2011. Like P194, but with blue 75 YEARS ATENEO LAW SCHOOL AD MAJOREM DEI GLORIAM overprint on watermark area. This note was issued to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the school.

Anyone interested in buying one of these notes can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw it mentioned on Banknotenews.com.

Curiously, the press release indicates that BSP is apparently continuing to produce notes of the old design even after it has introduced the new designs. Perhaps this is because the need for currency in the Philippines is so great that the BSP can’t meet demand with only the new notes from France, or that it feels compelled to keep the local printers in business.

The press release indicates that the old designs will be phased out by 2012, and that they will be demonetized in 2013.

According to a Manila Bulletin article dated 23 March 2011, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is reordering new 500-peso (US$11.50) and 1,000-peso (US$23) notes from Oberthur Technologies. The first order was for 20-peso, 50-peso, 100-peso, and 200-peso notes, of which only a small number have been issued since their introduction in December 2010. There’s no word yet on whether Oberthur intends to correct the errors which are present on the new design.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas issued this commemorative 200-peso note, as well as and gold and silver medals, to celebrate the University of Santo Tomas’s 400th anniversary. The central bank issued 10 million legal tender notes and 400 commemorative medals with no monetary value. The commemorative notes feature the Quadricentennial logo (tongues of fire forming the letters U, S and T emanating from the Main Building) overprinted on the watermark area on the front of the “old” style 200-peso note (Pick 195). The central bank also sold 400 numismatic products consisting of an uncut sheet of two 200-peso commemorative notes.

According to a number of sources, the new notes introduced by the Philippines on 16 December 2010 are rife with errors. The back of the 500-peso note features a rare native bird, the blue-naped parrot, with its red beak incorrectly rendered in yellow and the tail feathers underneath colored green instead of yellow. Also, the maps on the back of various notes supposedly misidentify the location of certain geographic features.

Central bank spokeswoman Fe de la Cruz acknowledged the criticism, but said space constraints limited the artist's room for manoeuvre. "In choosing the design..., we are always guided by our commitment to enrich the appreciation and knowledge of the Filipinos we honor on our banknotes, as well as the unique sites and species our country should be proud of," she said. "For our banknotes we used an artist's rendition of the Philippine map that by virtue of space and aesthetics does not reflect all of our islands and the precise coordinates of each site. Nevetheless, we appreciate constructive comments and we will take these into account moving forward."

On 26 November 2010, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) started issuing banknotes with the signature of President Benigno S. C. Aquino III, ahead of December’s launch of redesigned note series. The bank stopped producing notes with the signature of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo when Aquino assumed office last June 30 and the new printing is aimed at shoring up supply. Given the fact that a new series is coming out in less than a month, notes of the old designs with Aquino’s signature may be relatively rare.

According to an article in mb.com.ph dated 20 September 2010, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is considering circulating or shredding five million 2,000-piso (US$45.50) banknotes currently stored in its vaults. These unissued “New Millennium” notes are more commonly known at the BSP as "Erap" notes because the front features the inauguration of President Joseph "Erap" Estrada at Barasoain Church in Bulacan on 10 June 1998. Printed in 2000, the notes were to circulate in 2001, but President Estrada was ousted from office that year. Even if the bulk of the notes are destroyed, the BSP is considering saving 50,000 pieces which would be demonetized for “historical, educational, numismatic and other purposes.” The BSP currently sells a larger version of this denomination as a centennial commemorative note (P189, shown above).

The new BSP logo is a perfect round shape in blue that features three gold stars and a stylized Philippine eagle rendered in white strokes. These main elements are framed on the left side with the text inscription “Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas” underscored by a gold line drawn in half circle. The right side remains open, signifying freedom, openness, and readiness of the BSP, as represented by the Philippine eagle, to soar and fly toward its goal. Putting all these elements together is a solid blue background to signify stability.

Principal Elements:

1. The Philippine Eagle, our national bird, is the world’s largest eagle and is a symbol of strength, clear vision and freedom, the qualities we aspire for as a central bank.

2. The three stars represent the three pillars of central banking: price stability, stable banking system, and a safe and reliable payments system. It may also be interpreted as a geographical representation of BSP’s equal concern for the impact of its policies and programs on all Filipinos, whether they are in Luzon, Visayas or Mindanao.

Colors1. The blue background signifies stability. 2. The stars are rendered in gold to symbolize wisdom, wealth, idealism, and high quality. 3. The white color of the eagle and the text for BSP represents purity, neutrality, and mental clarity.

Font or Type Face Non-serif, bold for “BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS” to suggest solidity, strength, and stability. The use of non-serif fonts characterized by clean lines portrays the no-nonsense professional manner of doing business at the BSP.

Shape Round shape to symbolize the continuing and unending quest to become an excellent monetary authority committed to improve the quality of life of Filipinos. This round shape is also evocative of our coins, the basic units of our currency.

Over the past year, several Philippine banknotes have been issued bearing the letter A after the year. I recently received the following explanation from a source at Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas:

“The serial number on Philippine banknotes consists of two (2) alpha and six numerics per denomination. The total number of banknotes per denomination that can be printed with SN A0000001 to SN ZZ1000000 is 600 million pieces. When the actual production of banknotes per denomination exceeds 600 million pieces, the suffix A is added after the year mark in order to avoid duplication of the serial number.”

According to an Inquirer Global Nation article dated 11 March 2010, former President Corazon Aquino and various tourist spots—including the underground river in Palawan—will be featured in the next generation of peso banknotes to be introduced in December 2010, according to OIC Central Bank Governor Diwa Guinigundo.

All denominations (20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1,000 pesos) are being redesigned, but their colors will remain the same. Guinigundo said new personalities will be added to some of the notes, and existing portraits will be updated, while the backgrounds and vignettes will be changed to include the country’s famous tourist spots. New and old notes will circulate in parallel for up to three years.

Following the 1 August 2009 death of former president Corazon “Cory” Aquino, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is considering adding her portrait to the 500-piso (US$10.50) note which has featured a portrait of her husband and former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. since 20 August 1987. If approved, the new note would be available in the last quarter of 2010.

On 9 July 2009, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) introduced 12 million banknotes with an overprint commemorating 60 years of central banking. The overprint appears on the watermark area on all six circulating denominations: 20-, 50-; 100-; 200-; 500-, and 1,000-piso.

According to a BuinessMirror report dated 8 July 2009, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is planning to replace its existing abaca-and-cotton banknotes with polymer notes. Deputy BSP governor and officer in charge, Armando Suratos, provided no details on the timing of such a move, but stated that it would result in savings over the long term as polymer notes outlast paper notes in circulation even though they are initially more costly to produce. No further details are available at this time.

100 pesos (US$2.30), 2008. Ten million notes introduced 20.06.2008, to commemorate the centennial of the University of the Philippines. Like P194, but new date, and overprint of the Oblation, an iconic concrete sculpture of a man with face up and arms stretched-wide symbolizing the selfless offering of service to one’s country. 160 x 65 mm.

According to a 15 August 2006, article in The Manila Times, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will cease outsourcing the printing of bank notes in 2007 in the wake of an embarrassing mistake made public last November.

In an attempt to ensure a sufficient supply of 100-piso (US$1.95) bank notes during the 2005 Christmas season, last year the BSP contracted the services of an unnamed French security printer. The move was supposed to be economical, too, since the French printer’s cost of production was reportedly half that of the BSP.

Unfortunately, the outsourced 100-piso notes (Pick 194c) delivered to the BSP bore President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s surname misspelled as “Arrovo.” Approximately 1,000 of these error notes were released into circulation before the mistake was caught. They remain legal tender in the Philippines, but are valued at US$20 in uncirculated condition, according to the 12th edition of the SCWPM.

Said an unnamed source, “It’s both the printer and BSP’s fault, because BSP sent its staff abroad who handles outsourcing of bank notes. However, the French printer shoulders the printing cost.”

A new story in the Manila Standard Today reports that 2.14 million error notes were released, and that the printer in question is Francois Charles Oberthur Fiduciare. Oberthur has reportedly agreed to shoulder the cost of a quarter of the initial print run of 77.9 million notes and will replace three quarters of that amount.

According to Inquirer.net, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), has spent P4 billion (US$89 million) on two “superline” printing machines so it will not have to outsource the printing of banknotes. Two years ago, a European printer supplied 80 million 100-peso notes on which President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s was misspelled as “Arrovo.” By printing locally, it’s hoped that such embarrassing errors will be a thing of the past. Also, the new printing machines will double the capacity of the Security Plant Complex in Quezon City to two billion notes annually. The new machines perform the entire cycle of banknote production, from layout to printing and bundling.